


In the Fog, I Wasn't Alone

by dirtyragd0ll (b0ywife)



Series: College AU with Pythias [3]
Category: Hello Charlotte (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, Crying, Cutting, F/M, Fights, Interspecies Relationship(s), Isolation, Multi, Self-Harm, Unhealthy Relationships, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:07:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25996489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/b0ywife/pseuds/dirtyragd0ll
Summary: Charlotte is so kind! She loves to help her classmates in what they need. But, really, why even so, no matter how much she tries, they don't get close to her? She must be doing something wrong.Frei thinks that what she does wrong is actually putting so much effort in them. She should pay attention to those that actually want to be close to her instead.
Relationships: Charlotte Wiltshire/Frei (Hello Charlotte), Oracle/Charlotte Wiltshire
Series: College AU with Pythias [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1885834
Kudos: 5





	In the Fog, I Wasn't Alone

**Author's Note:**

> yes i wrote again. also i slept badly so i woke up and wrote this and fell asleep. things got spicyyy!
> 
> tfw you don't cut but you self harm in other ways, but i wanted to use the heart wound lore, but like, i relate hard to what Charlotte is passing in this story so. It's like Ron Weasley says, "you're gonna suffer but you will be happy about it", she suffers but she gets the help she needs and that's what matters, right? someone gotta receive help between us two.
> 
> also....... you can easily see what Frei is doing as manipulation and unhealthy stuff and isolation, it's fine! he thinks that's for her own good (and to be fair, it really ends up being for her own good, her classmates isolating her first away so if anything it was their fault first). I like how he tells the truth but driving her to conclusions she didn't want to acknowledge yet, it's an interesting dynamic. This time tho, he can go to classes with her, so she's not alone.
> 
> oh yea, those parts where i use they for Frei are parts that mean that the Oracle and Frei are much more mixed up. the more death of ego due to love, the bigger the mixing.

It wasn't a long time since Frei began to live in the same dorm that Charlotte does. And they were already, if not fighting, at least discussing heavily.

Frei cared about her, he really did. But to watch her allow some of her classmates use her when she knew deep down that they didn't care about her at all... She couldn't not have noticed that when she did their requests with such a down posture. But Charlotte was feeling hurt over his cruel choice of words regarding them.

"Frei, you said that you wanted to help me socialize, and now you are saying that I can't socialize." Her heartbroken expression was a lot, but he didn't took back his words. "Don't you see that they are all I have? I can't change classmates, and we have to get along!"

"That does not mean that they are allowed to take advantage of you, Miss Wiltshire." She didn't know how to explain well, but he seemed calm and yet scary. Like he was actually really angry, and she guessed that if he was mad at the other students, to watch her defend them asking so many things from her might be frustrating.

However, as she said, they were all she had. Of course she could try making friends with other students of other classes, but the distance would surely put an ending in that possible friendship. Besides, Charlotte had papers to make, presentations to do, and she really wished to do well. But School and College is often a preparation to work together in society, so all the work she needed to do often required help from the others, who made friends easily with everybody but her.

It really stung. They weren't even acquaintances by then.

"Frei, I need you to understand, please." She tried again, fidgeting with her nails in anxiety. She really didn't want to fight with the Pythia. "Us humans, we need to rely on each other. To not be able to do that, it means death. We need each other. I need them."

"So you don't want to die, Miss Wiltshire. But you know that they have already left you behind. They aren't going to change their mind because you are a good servant." The way two of his eyes looked in her direction, it was scary even though he didn't actually do anything. "Things will hardly change with them, for they have already took a decision about you, Miss Wiltshire, and it's not related in supporting you at all, or being friends with you. There's nothing that can be done about them."

As she looked down, half humiliated in being told something that, yes, she already knew, and half anxious, tears began to pour from her eyes. It was so frustrating! What was she doing wrong? Why no matter how much effort she put in, things just didn't work out? She might not the smartest, but Charlotte did her best to be at least reliable and someone who is wanted around. Even if she despised someone, she would feel better if at least that someone stayed.

She didn't want to be alone. She didn't want all those people to leave even though they had already decided to do such. She was fidgeting so hard with her nails that she accidentally took too much skin. "Ouch!"

Frei turned alarmed towards her. "Let me see it, Miss Wiltshire." He tried to reach out, but stopped at how she flinched and hugged herself. "Miss...?"

"I am going to my room now." He noticed that Charlotte was scared. Now he would surely pull away and not want to be around her. She made Frei feel guilt, and he would most likely feel hurt that she was scared, and then later resent her due to her actions.

* * *

Charlotte locked herself the rest of the day. Frei sighed, it was the truth! These humans cared about themselves first, and that was something that most living beings, humans or not, do most of the time. Nobody is truly selfless, even Charlotte wasn't.

She didn't help out of the goodness of her heart, he was sure that she was a very kind person but even she wasn't that selfless. She helped people in exchange for a connection that could or not come. That surely could be seen as kind, but the truth is that it's still manipulative, perhaps as harmless as a baby who doesn't stop crying until its mother give food to it, but manipulative. And considering that it gave frustration when it didn't work? Somewhat entitled. 

Still, he didn't want to drive her to lock herself. He made dinner, some rice with canned sausages, and it was going cold, and she still hadn't come out even to go to the toilet. Frei sighed again, looking at the door besides his own room. He would have to knock.

Charlotte always wore long sleeves around him and others, ever since they met. He didn't think much of it before, not before he heard her weeping inside the door, and surely not before he knocked. Much less before she opened the door looking dizzy, before realizing that her upper body was showing too much.

Even though his surprise was felt by all other Pythias, he couldn't care less. Did he caused...? Or was it those selfish, selfish humans, was it because of them? He was selfish too, but they should have remembered how weak and vulnerable and worthy of pity humans are. They are so easily harmed, and it was both impressing and terrifying.

Before Charlotte closed the door mortified, he almost lost a finger in trying to keep it open. "Wait! Miss Wiltshire, at least allow me to help you with your heart wounds." He called her cutting the same way that aliens did, she noticed. She opened the door slowly back again, as if in doubt, but Frei didn't seem scary anymore.

Instead, he was looking at her with some kind of pained compassion. He held her hurt hand as if it was a frail baby, so carefully pushing her to the sofa so he could take care of her and her foolish actions, she couldn't avoid tearing up. Charlotte still felt humiliated, since she managed to keep that even from Scarlett and Charles. But there was her roommate that she met not so long ago, and he knew one of her biggest secrets.

Yet, he didn't look at her annoyed or even in panic, didn't even called her an attention whore. He just cleaned up the blood away, then her cuts, from her arms to the one she made on her neck. Whenever she looked up to Frei, he would smile gently at her and then just keep going, bandaging so nothing would get infected.

She was still crying when he finished. Even when he got up and made tea for her, sitting down by her side, Charlotte just couldn't stop crying.

"Hey, Miss Wiltshire?" Though she lifted her head towards him, she had so many tears coming out that he was sure that he must have been looking like a blurry blob to her. "I told you the truth before. These humans are selfish, and don't want to share their time with you. Even you are selfish for trying to manipulate them to stay with you the way you are doing."

She had a betrayed expression on her face. It was somewhat true, but it just made her cry more. She was truly miserable, wasn't she? That really could be called manipulation.

"But." Frei held Charlotte's hand as if it was a precious crystal. "I'm selfish as well, so it's okay. I understand that you are doing your best, and got asked to bear dealing with that kind of human for too long by yourself."

She gave a whiny mumble, embarrassed for feeling so seen.

"Yes. Miss Wiltshire, you don't have to keep socializing and trying to establish connection with our foolish classmates. Every paper, presentation, everything that you need a partner on, you will count on me from now on, right? You have no need for them because I want you to have me instead."

She really wanted to hide her face, but Charlotte was too shocked for that, truly. She wasn't crying hard before those words, but the relief from feeling stupid and alone was too much. Frei had to hug her from how violently the sobs came out, petting her head and back in a tender way. Her hair was as soft as it looked, and it didn't have a shampoo smell anymore but still smelled good. Or perhaps it was just their opinion because of their attachment.

"You just wanted someone to help you feel better about yourself, didn't you? I apologize for not offering sooner those words, I should have said them first before telling the truth. Those are the words you wanted to hear, right?" She tried to answer with words, but it came out messy. Charlotte then nodded and hid her face on his neck. Frei chuckled and held her tighter. "It's okay, I will keep you safe."

The next days were harder for the other students. For one, Charlotte would not offer help anymore for every single thing. Even if the students got close themselves to request something to her, she would fidget and say she was busy, but she hoped that they would get help from someone else. Frei seemed very proud every time he saw that.

She kept kind, but she took way less shit than before. The human students sometimes glared at Frei, suspecting he said something to take their little servant away. He would grin and hug her, and Charlotte seemed at ease with that, while he looked delighted when she hugged him back.


End file.
